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Week 7 Blog Post
Quick Minutes Wednesday Meeting this week in the council rooms near the ECU bank in Dayboro at 7pm, Wednesday 15th March. See you then! Our writer in residence this month, Carleton, will be talking about e-publishing. Please don’t forget to read the work submitted for February and March. Please make comments in the blog section that Vicki has posted. We are hoping for some great feedback! This is open to everyone. Member News Carleton has submitted his novel to be edited this week. Congratulations Carleton we wish you all the best! Reminders Our homework task is now under the “Current Task” on our website. Please email Vicki with your contributions. Constructive criticism is welcome regarding the homework task or if you wish for someone to read their homework out at our next meeting, please make a comment. Comments can be created by clicking on the brown “Comments” url at the top of the blog. The comments cannot be made in the posted section. I can’t wait to read your homework. Please leave feedback in the comments section on the work. Homework to be submitted by 9am on Wednesday morning so it gives Vicki time to put it on the website and for people to read it. A Week in Review (from Facebook) Carleton posted up some extremely interesting figures relating to book earnings. You can view the link here: http://authorearnings.com/report/february-2017/ Jane is fantastic with keeping us all a little bit light hearted. You can view the link here: https://www.facebook.com/503521719712198/photos/a.533626833368353.1073741828.503521719712198/1395243067206721/?type=3&theater Peta posted up some sage advice from Stephen King’s “On Writing”. If you haven’t already, purchase this book. It is one of the best books on writing there is on the market. Another must purchase book is Strunk and White’s; Elements of Style, and finally the Australian Government’s Style Manual for authors, editors and printers (6th Edition). You can view the link here: https://writerswrite.co.za/13-writing-lessons-from-stephen-kings-on-writing/ What made up words can do for your writing. You can see the link here: https://www.bookstr.com/article/the-best-made-up-words-from-literature/3248 10 things I wish I knew about self-publishing. You can view the link here: http://www.chrissybyers.com/single-post/2016/08/31/Ten-Things-I-Wish-I-Knew-Before-Self-Publishing An Interesting Article about why writing begins with forgiveness. You can view the link here: http://sevenscribes.com/writing-begins-with-forgiveness-why-one-of-the-most-common-pieces-of-writing-advice-is-wrong/ Quick writing web checklist. You can view the link here: https://www.katetooncopywriter.com.au/quick-web-writing-checklist/ Profit from publishing! Who would have thought. You can view the link here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/profit-from-publishing-bev-ryan The sad and shocking truth about children’s books. You can view the link here: https://www.facebook.com/Writers-Rendezvous-503521719712198/ What about your mother? You can view the link here: https://writerswin.com/five-tips-to-determine-if-your-manuscript-is-ready-to-send-out-or-but-my-mother-loves-my-book/ The opening of the new Chermside library. You can view the link here: https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/whats-on/venue/library-events?trumbaEmbed=search%3Dchermside+official Up for a challenge? Write a story in just four words. Women’s flash fiction competition is now open. You can view the link here: https://mslexia.co.uk/products/competition_entry_fee/flash-fiction-comp-2017/ I love this quote from Oscar Wilde; "The difference between literature and journalism is that journalism is unreadable and literature is not read." And on that note, see you all at 7pm Wednesday 15th March! Peta Culverhouse Constructive feedback from homework: Feedback Etiquette: (taken from Writing Fiction Course Future Learn, 2016) Giving Feedback Here are some feedback guidelines: • You are asked to focus on the writing for the homework piece. Feedback for other tasks should be given to the author personally. • If you think an aspect of the writing works well, try to analyse why, but also look for its faults. Usually there will be some. • If you think an aspect of the writing doesn’t work, again, analyse why. Make sure you look for the parts that might be working better in the piece. Almost always there will be positive things to focus on as well. • Try to go beyond ‘Oh, I liked that, but I didn’t like that.’ • Always comment on the idea and its implementation, not on the surmised personality of the writer. • Bear in mind that, often, you will be passing comment on a ‘work-in-progress’, a piece of writing that is not finished. Try to assess where it might go and what tactics might be used in its development. • Always try to show evidence for whatever claims you make. Evidence, in this instance, is the part of the writing you are talking about. Point out the use of language you are focused on so that the writer knows which part you mean. • Rather than being imperious in your comments, explain what you mean, point out the evidence – but also freely suggest there may be other opinions. This can be done with little nudging queries: ‘I wonder if anyone else thinks this?’ • Think about how well the writing is geared to its intended readership. Receiving feedback Here are some guidelines: • When assessing comments you may wish to rewrite the idea completely. Don’t rush into this. • You may wish to tweak your story a little, rewrite completely or just leave it as it is. Any of these options is possible. There is no correct way of responding to critical comments. You may choose to accept some comments and reject others. Remember: you are the final arbiter; you are the writer. • If you are lucky and receive more than one lot of feedback, pay special attention to areas where there seems to be a consensus, even though it might be an opinion with which you strongly disagree. Ask yourself: ‘Have I ever had doubts about this before I got these comments?’ Be honest with yourself. If the answer is ‘Yes’, then the area almost certainly needs attention – even if it happens to be your favourite section. • Ask yourself whether the piece under discussion is going to be developed any further. If so, how? • If it isn’t going to be developed, what can be salvaged from it? You might wish to use a character, a metaphor, a line of dialogue. It’s important to realise that even if you eventually abandon an idea, there may be some small part of that idea – sometimes just an image, a line or even a phrase– that you can use later, in another piece. • Remember: your fellow writers are commenting on a piece of work at a particular stage in its development, not on a finished article, and they are certainly not commenting on you personally. Feedback: (please mention stories name and contributor).
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